“Fiesta” for Whom? Junot Diaz displays in his short story “Fiesta” how an abusive father can cause a family to disconnect from each other and their cultural values. Yunior, the narrator, explains how he and his family were immigrants from the Dominican Republic. The lived in New Jersey and were invited to a party in the Bronx in New York City. The father creates disconnection in the family because of his strong connection to his cultural values. His culture taught him to be patriarchal, promiscuous, and authoritative. These qualities, in excessive use, destroyed his family furthermore Yuniors childhood. In Junot Diaz's "Fiesta" the father created substantial fear in his children which resulted in extreme disconnection inside his entire family. The story begins with the family being ready to go to the party, and waiting for the husband/father to arrive. "If papi had walked in and caught us lounging in our underwear, he would have kicked our asses or something serious" (Diaz 4070). Both Yunior and his brother Rafa were terrified of their father. This caused separation between both the brothers. Reason being that Yunior was always getting in trouble with his father, which lead him to search for some sort of defense. He turned to his older brother. If Yunior eats before riding in his father's new van, he becomes nauseated and vomits. The father would punish Yunior for technically, surviving. His father was so disconnected from his son that would be mad at his son for eating. When Yunior was going to be punished Rafa would disappear. This angered Yunior resulting in constant bickering between him and his brother. The fear in the household was so immense that the youngest daughter would cry when hearing her father's voice. Yunior bl... ... middle of paper ... ...e treated his family. The kids were raised in an environment of fear and punishment. This affected every relationship, even with other children, they had established. Being bound to one’s culture is not necessarily a bad thing. The kids are disciplined and respectful, at least in the presence of other adults. The problem with the father was not understanding that some values are expired and do not fit society's norms. Traditions that bring families together should be kept not the opposite. Since society's norms are constantly changing, we have to keep traditions alive that correlate. Good traditions and cultural values should be passed on from generation to generation not the traditions that bring children down. Work Cited Diaz, Junot. “Fiesta.” The Heath Analogy of American Literature: Sixth Edition. Ed. Paul Lauter. Boston: Wadsworth, 2006. 4070-4080. Print.
... educated so he decided to bury himself into his studies and leave his family life as an afterthought. Rodríguezes parents were always supportive of him and his academic success but he did not embrace them as he should have. Next, Rodriguez rightly points out that at his graduation ceremonies throughout life his parents would attend and someone would always say that “your parents must be proud.” and those words always registered with him. Rodriguez’s influences were his teachers during his school years. Rodriguez wanted to obtain the same knowledge that his teachers possessed so he would be able to concentrate on the benefits his education could bring him. Later he realized that he alienated himself from his parents. Rodriguez indicates the time he was in the closet reading a book and his Mother finding him was something he looked back on as one of his regrets.
The beginning of the narrative immediately talks about the absence of the father throughout the weekdays for a long durations. It states “The daylight absence of the men, the fathers, imbued the suburbs with the suspense of desertion.” (Tallent 152) The sentiment expressed in this statement is one that is not so apparent on TV of fathers being gone all day and the mother staying home and taking care of the house. The media only portrays scenes of when families are together which in turn causes both young and old individuals such as Soto to begin to question their family life when in reality there may be nothing wrong with said family but just a misleading images of the
When growing up, the ideals of parents or parental figures can often impact your life and put pressure on you throughout life. This idea was shown drastically throughout the book Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. In this novel, a young boy named Antonio Marez resided in New Mexico where he lives with his siblings and parents, Maria and Gabriel. His life suddenly took a turn when a family friend, Ultima, comes to stay with him and his family. She greatly impacted him while he went through
This novel is a story of a Chicano family. Sofi, her husband Domingo together with their four daughters – Esperanza, Fe, Caridad, and Loca live in the little town of Tome, New Mexico. The story focuses on the struggles of Sofi, the death of her daughters and the problems of their town. Sofi endures all the hardships and problems that come her way. Her marriage is deteriorating; her daughters are dying one by one. But, she endures it all and comes out stronger and more enlightened than ever. Sofi is a woman that never gives up no matter how poorly life treats her. The author- Ana Castillo mixes religion, super natural occurrences, sex, laughter and heartbreak in this novel. The novel is tragic, with no happy ending but at the same time funny and inspiring. It is full of the victory of the human spirit. The names of Sofi’s first three daughters denote the three major Christian ideals (Hope, Faith and Charity).
Although it is ultimately revealed that Oscar and Yunior are close with each other, Yunior’s pure embodiment of the Dominican masculine is the complete antithesis of Oscar’s character, who is the opposite of anything that could describe Yunior. One good analogy to the hyper masculine identity of Yunior is to that of the personality of Trujillo, the repressive dictator of the Dominican Republic who oversaw the Haitian parsley massacre. Trujillo had a strong lust for women and a rather apparent tendency for violence, and as some sources (i.e. Masculinity after Trujillo, by Maja Horn) argue, the modern conception of masculinity in the country came to full bloom after his rein. Interestingly this was the period of time that Beli grew up in, and a substantial part of her childhood experience was suffering at the behest of Trujillo’s suppressive regime, and consequentially this contributed to her hefty and dominant
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
In Fiesta 1980, Diaz creates a main character who narrates the issues occurring in the present. I think that Diaz tried to show Yunior’s point of view in order to illustrate his story and no other side for the reader to understand. It seemed that Yunior had enough maturity to understand family loyalty, but he was hesitant towards honesty. There were some flashbacks throughout the story which served the purpose to enlighten the readers of few incidents that have affected Yunior in past and are still very vivid to him. In my opinion, this story has too many connections to the real world. Yunior and his siblings are scared of their papi, because his papi is violent. He has harmed his kids too many times, but readers understand that Yunior loves
Racial, ethnic, and class differences between tbe narrator and bis dates are magnifred by his obsession to conquer or "score" with each girl. With this purpose in mind, Yunior goes to great lengths to try to manipulate different aspects of his identity and his surroundings.
Without the true understanding of masculinity, people try to claim masculinity with no knowledge of the consequence/price they have to pay on the road to masculinity. Junot Diaz, in his collection Drown, uses the view of many young men to illustrate to the readers about the effect of the false notion masculinity is causing. Yunior and Ramon, along with many other characters in the story, is highly affected by the notion of masculinity. In each story, the characters, after trying to meet this strict notion of masculinity, eventually, breaks down; physically or mentally. It's hardly possible to meet this criterion of masculinity, and if one does, the cost of is so dreadful that in the end, one will realize that they're once again back to their
Additionally, Diaz shows in “Fiesta 1980” the holding to some strong cultures like the male chauvinism and the correction of the children through some kind of violence mainly coming from the father figure. In the Latin and Caribbean culture, “the family tends to be patriarchal” so this is a common situation (Buffington). This leads to a belief that since the men have the power in the house, he can be authoritative and have the last decision even above his wife. In “Fiesta 1980”, Diaz represents this situation with the character “Papi”. He was the main provider to the house so he had the power to tell what to do or not. Yunior narrates how his father treats him and he says that Every time “Papi” was going to smack him, Rafa inched away (Diaz
Family is one of those words that have a significant meaning to various individuals. Family may be viewed one way to an individual and another way to someone else. Family consists of those who have played a particular role in one’s life, whether it is positive or negative. In this paper, I will assess Reymundo’s family both nuclear and extended and speak of how his family has become significant in his life and how they have played a role in his decisions. I will also speak of my personal reactions to the story as well as address ways that as a social worker I could work to impact the gang problems in Orlando.
Junot Díaz’s Drown, a collection of short stories, chronicles the events of Yunior and his family. Each story focuses Yunior and his struggle growing up as a Dominican immigrant and finding a place for himself within American society. Throughout the progression of the novel, Yunior realizes the stereotypes placed on him and recognizes that being white is advantageous. Yunior’s experience growing up both in the Dominican Republic and the States has shaped his perspective on life and life choices.
“Papi pulled me to my feet by my ear. If you throw up— I won 't, I cried, tears in my eyes, more out of reflex than pain” (307). As this scenario presents violence, it displays innocent Yunior’s response towards his abusive father as he pulls Yunior’s ears. In the short story Fiesta 1980, Junot Diaz depicts the life of young Yunior as he struggles with his Dominican family issues. Yunior was picked on the most in the family, especially from his dad. As Poor Yunior was the victim of his dad’s affair with a Puerto Rican woman, it affected him psychologically. Yunior suffers from the fact his beloved mother is being cheated on; therefore, he vomits as he rides his dad’s van, as his first ride in the van is linked to his first meeting with
Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, set in the late 1900’s, tells a story of Oscar Wao, an overweight Dominican “ghetto nerd”, his mother and rebellious sister who live together in Paterson, New Jersey. Throughout the novel, Diaz incorporates many different stories about each character that show acts of resistance. One of the most prominent stories of resistance in the novel is through Oscar’s mom; Beli, who is prompted by great tragedy, known as the Trujillo curse, to love atomically and thus follow a dangerous path. Beli’s family history plays a large role in her choices that eventually compel her into a different life than what her adopted mother, La Inca, had wanted
Belasco, Susan, and Linck Johnson, eds. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Vol. 1, 2nd Ed., Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 1190-1203. Print.